Commonwealth v. Keenan, 853 A.2d 381 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2004)

Cases | Commonwealth v. Keenan, 853 A.2d 381 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2004) | 2018

The defendant pled guilty to simple assault. As part of his sentence, the lower court ordered him to pay restitution to medical providers for the injuries he caused. Thereafter, the defendant filed a post-sentence motion asking the lower court to modify the restitution portion of his sentence. The lower court vacated the sentence and ordered the defendant to pay restitution to the victims’ compensation program in the amount of $2,313.56. The court also ordered the defendant to pay restitution to a doctor and to a hospital that provided medical services to the victim in the case. The defendant appealed, arguing that the trial court erred in ordering that restitution be paid to medical providers, and by modifying the restitution order after sentencing. On appeal, the court found no error in the lower court’s order of restitution to the hospital or to the victims compensation program. The court, however, found that the lower court erred in ordering the payment of restitution directly to the doctor because the doctor’s loss was not caused directly by the defendant’s criminal conduct. Instead, the doctor’s loss was merely a loss consequential to the defendant’s criminal conduct. The court vacated the judgment of sentence and remanded for re-sentencing.